There
are hundreds of niche
sites online and Jerry Miller
is the founder of one growing in popularity with country
folk - FarmersOnly.com.
Miller has been married for 28 years and has three
children. He's turning his success into success for
farmers and country folk looking for love. In addition
to his work with FarmersOnly.com,
Miller is a partner in an advertising and public relations
firm in Cleveland, Ohio.

On FarmersOnly.com,
Miller speaks the need for a niche site targeting farmers:

"I
truly feel there is more of a need for this matchmaking
site than any other singles site on the web. You
see, as owner of a company that works with thousands
of farms and ranches across the country, I've met
a number of single farmers of all different ages
with one thing in common--they were all having
a difficult time finding someone special. Why?
Let's face it, how many new people do you meet
working on the farm all day?"

Online Dating Magazine publisher Joe
Tracy recently caught up with Miller to learn more
about FarmersOnly.com.

ODM: Thank
you for agreeing to share some insight to our tens
of thousands of readers, Jerry. It’s obvious
what your niche online dating service is for from the
name – FarmersOnly.com. My first question is,
are there really that many farmers?

Jerry Miller: There
are roughly one million farms in the United States
alone, but the number is decreasing every year. Small
family farms have 2-3 farmers, while the large, commercial
farms employ 25-100 farm or ranch hands.

Jerry Miller: Through
my company, I work with over 4,000 farms and ranches
across the country. One farmer, who I’d become
good friends with, called me to tell me of her growing
frustrations.

Recently divorced, she told me how difficult it was
to meet someone new.

“I’m ready to give up!” She said. “How
am I going to meet someone working on a farm all day?
I already know everybody who lives around here… which
isn’t many people! Maybe I’ll try online
dating.”

A
month later, I called her to ask how her luck was
with online dating. She replied, even more frustrated, “The
men who have been contacting me don’t understand
the lifestyle of a farmer,” she told me. “They
don’t have a clue!” Thus came the site’s
slogan… “City Folks Just Don’t Get
It!”

I
started doing some internet searches and couldn’t
find one national dating site truly designed for farmers.
The need for this new online dating service became
very clear and six months later, I launched FarmersOnly.com.

ODM: How
long have you been running FarmersOnly.com and how
big is the service and the staff?

Jerry Miller: FarmersOnly.com made
its debut in May of 2005. Currently, 3 full time and
11 part time staff run the site, which now has about
30,000 members.

ODM: Do
you find that farmers and country folk are a bit more
hesitant to try online dating than city folk?

Jerry Miller: I’ve talked to
literally hundreds of members on the phone and read
thousands of emails from members who said they’ve
never tried online dating before. But those who said
they have tried other dating sites were very excited
to finally have a place where everyone can relate to
their lifestyle. So maybe a lot of these members were
hesitant to try online dating because there wasn’t
a website designed specifically for them.

ODM: Is
there ever any cross interest in FarmersOnly.com.
For example, do some "city folk" sign up
because they want to date a farmer?

Jerry Miller: Yes,
roughly 10% of our members live in major cities,
but have always dreamed of living in the country.
We call these “Farmer
Wannabes”. As we say, you don’t have to
be a farmer to join FarmersOnly.com. But, you do have
to respect and cherish the rural lifestyle.

ODM: FarmersOnly.com has
received a lot of publicity; The Today Show, National
Public Radio, magazines, newspapers and even The National
Enquirer. What was The National Enquirer’s interest
in FarmersOnly.com?

Jerry Miller: The National Enquirer
heard about our site and thought it was a unique and
perfect fit since a large part of their readership
reside in rural areas.

ODM: So
then the story wasn't about aliens from outer space
using your service to expand into the farmlands?

Jerry Miller: No, as a matter of
fact, it turned out to be one of the best-written stories
to date about FarmersOnly.com.
They gave an overview on how the site started and the
need for a site specializing in agriculture and rural
living. The story included interviews with members,
including a couple that met on the site and the successful
relationship that has resulted. My favorite quote from
this story is from a country girl who said she wanted
to avoid city boys who didn’t know the difference
between a John Deere and a reindeer.

ODM: What is the biggest challenge
you face daily in running your service?

Jerry Miller: Approving the hundreds,
sometimes thousands, of new profiles and revisions
that come in every day is the most challenging.

ODM: Give
us a little more insight into your creative slogan
- "City Folks Just Don't
Get It".

Jerry Miller: You
can almost substitute the words “Don’t Get It” with “Don’t
Understand or Can’t Relate to the Lifestyle of
a Farmer”. Most city folks work 9a.m.-5p.m.,
Monday through Friday, while farmers work 5a.m.-9p.m.,
Monday through Sunday. One dairy farmer I spoke to
hasn’t taken a day off in 10 years!

In the city, there may be 100 entertainment choices
within a 10 mile radius (restaurants, night clubs,
theaters, coffee shops). In the country, there may
not even be 100 people in a 10 mile radius!

ODM: I’ve
seen your TV commercial on your Website, which I
love. Where do you run it and how successful has
it been for you?

Jerry Miller: We are currently in
the process of testing a number of different cable
lifestyle networks and times to run the commercial.

Jerry Miller: Our
members have answered this question in the hundreds
of emails I’ve
received saying something like, “I’ve tried
other online dating sites, but finally there is one
where everyone relates to each other!”

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